DIY Lip Balm: 8 Recipes for All Skill Levels

By
Katherine Martinko
Katherine Martinko
Katherine Martinko
Senior Editor
  • University of Toronto

Katherine Martinko is an expert in sustainable living. She holds a degree in English Literature and History from the University of Toronto.

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Updated February 7, 2022
Balm in a small tin on wooden background

Reimphoto / Getty Images 

For those of us who suffer from chronically chapped pouts, lip balm is one of those things we just can't go without. It's also one of those things in the personal care aisle that harbors hidden chemicals like parabens, petroleum, alcohol, and artificial fragrance. Then, there's lanolin, not a chemical but an emollient that comes from sheep wool. Now, who wants to put that on their mouth?

Making your own homemade lip balm is the safer, eco-friendlier, and potentially cheaper option. You can whip up a natural salve with as few ingredients as beeswax, olive oil, and some essential oils. (Don't use beeswax? No worries, there are vegan alternatives.) As a bonus, you won't be stuck with impossible-to-recycle plastic tubes afterward.

Try these eight easy-to-make lip balm recipes to soothe your cheilitis.

1
of 8

Easy Four-Ingredient Lip Balm

Here's one of the easiest DIY lip balm formulas to make at home, using only beeswax, essential oils, and olive or almond oil. Keep in mind that olive oil is thicker than almond oil and could leave your lips feeling slick and greasy.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of olive or sweet almond oil
  • Grapefruit seed extract or vitamin E oil
  • 5 to 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
  • 1/4 cup beeswax pastilles

Instructions

  1. Heat oils and beeswax in a double boiler until the wax is melted and mixed with the oils.
  2. Pour into small tins, glass jars, or reusable tubes—preferably using a kitchen funnel—and allow to set.
  3. Save any extra oil for use on wounds and cuts or for another batch of lip salve.

Vegan Variation

For a vegan version of this lip balm—or any other balm on this list—replace beeswax with candelilla wax using a 1:1 ratio.

2
of 8

Moisturizing Shea Lip Balm

Beeswax and homemade lip balm in tins on wooden background

Premyuda Yospim / Getty Images

This formula features a trifecta of skin-softening ingredients: shea butter, jojoba oil, and vitamin E oil. You also get a hint of refreshing scent from sweet orange or peppermint essential oil. Feel free to choose another essential oil that suits you or personalize the recipe with a custom blend.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated beeswax
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons shea butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sweet almond oil
  • 3 to 4 drops essential oil of choice (sweet orange, peppermint, or other)
  • 10 drops vitamin E 1000 IU

Instructions

  1. Melt beeswax, shea butter, and oils together in a double boiler, then remove from heat when melted.
  2. When mixture has cooled down a bit, add essential oil and vitamin E oil into the mixture. Stir.
  3. Pour into lip balm containers and allow to solidify. If the mixture is too thick to pour, add a little more jojoba or sweet almond oil. It should yield about five tubes.
3
of 8

Aromatherapeutic Lavender Lip Balm

This balm does double duty to soothe dry lips and supply your nostrils with some aromatherapy. Lavender is one of the most calming scents out there. Research confirms that the flower contains a terpene alcohol called linalool that has anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
  • 2 tablespoons organic, unrefined coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons grated beeswax
  • 25 to 30 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions

  1. Melt all ingredients except essential oil in a double boiler until you reach a liquid consistency. Remove from heat.
  2. Stir in essential oils.
  3. Transfer the mixture to tins, jars, or tubes, and allow to set before using.
4
of 8

Delicious Chocolate Peppermint Lip Balm

Cocoa butter or Cocoa bean solid oil with cacao powder in spoon and raw cocoa beans in wooden bowl on rustic backdrop.


mescioglu / Getty Images

This choco-mint lip balm will take you back to childhood. Packed with cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and honey, you could almost eat it (but don't). Besides adding sweetness, honey is a natural humectant, pulling water into the skin.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon grated beeswax or beeswax pearls
  • 1/8 cup organic, unrefined coconut oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon shea butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon cocoa butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon vitamin E oil (or from 2 vitamin E capsules)
  • 3 drops peppermint essential oil

Instructions

  1. Heat cocoa and shea butters with coconut oil on very low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Try not to let the mixture go over 175 degrees, or the shea butter could end up gritty.)
  2. Add the beeswax and stir well.
  3. After the beeswax has completely melted, remove the mixture from the heat and add the essential oil, honey, vitamin E, and cocoa powder while whisking.
  4. After everything is incorporated and smooth, transfer to a lip balm tube or tin and allow to set for 3 hours. (Note: This balm gets very hard, which makes it perfect for a tube; otherwise, you’ll need some patience rubbing it with your finger to soften.)
5
of 8

Refreshing Lemon-Lime Lip Balm

Not into chocolate? How about a lip balm that smells like a margarita? Perfect for sunny days, this is your average lip balm formula with a punch of fruity fragrance.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons organic, unrefined coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon shea butter
  • 1 tablespoon grated beeswax
  • 2 teaspoons sweet almond oil
  • 5 drops lemon essential oil
  • 5 drops lime essential oil

Instructions

  1. Melt coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, and almond oil slowly in a double boiler until you achieve a liquid consistency. Remove from heat.
  2. Stir in essential oils.
  3. Pour mixture into tins, jars, or tubes and allow to harden for about 10 to 15 minutes.
6
of 8

Soothing CBD Lip Balm

CBD is an ingredient derived from the cannabis plant that's widely used in skin care because it contains naturally moisturizing omega fatty acids. If you're new to CBD, try making this lip balm with a minimum-strength oil (300 to 500 milligrams).

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons shea butter
  • 2 tablespoons grated beeswax
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 milliliter CBD oil
  • 5 to 10 drops essential oils of choice (optional)
  • 5 to 10 drops vitamin E oil (optional)

Instructions

  1. Melt shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax using a double boiler, then take off the heat.
  2. Once melted, mix in CBD oil and any optional oils. Vitamin E oil will enhance the mixture's moisturizing power while fragrant essential oils (like vanilla) help to counteract the potential cannabis smell of your CBD oil.
  3. Transfer mixture to tins, jars, or tubes and let cool to room temperature.
7
of 8

Herby Lip Salve

Person crushing flowers and herbs in mortar with pestle
Westend61 / Getty Images

Use this salve to cure dried, cracked, and chapped lips. The long list of herbs may appear daunting, but they're optional. Infuse them in your olive oil to make it more moisturizing, antibacterial, and antifungal. This recipe makes a large batch, but healing balm has a long shelf life and can be used in many ways.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup olive or almond oil
  • 1 teaspoon Eehinacea root
  • 1 teaspoon comfrey leaf
  • 1 teaspoon plantain leaf
  • 1 teaspoon calendula flowers
  • 1 teaspoon yarrow flowers
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary leaf

Instructions

  1. Infuse the herbs into the olive oil. There are two ways to do this—either by combining the herbs and the olive oil in a jar with an airtight lid and leaving three to four weeks, shaking daily, or by heating the herbs and olive oil over very low heat in a double boiler for three hours until the oil turns green.
  2. Strain the herbs out of the oil by pouring through cheesecloth. Let all the oil drip out, then squeeze the herbs to get the remaining oil out. Discard the herbs.
  3. Heat 1/4 cup of the infused oil in a double boiler with the beeswax until melted and mixed.
  4. Pour into small tins, glass jars, or tubes and use and allow to set.
8
of 8

Tinted Rose Lip Balm

On days when you want a little color boost from your balm, treat your lips to this subtle pink formula. The color comes from rose oil (homemade or store-bought) and powdered alkanet root.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon grated beeswax
  • 1/2 tablespoon jojoba oil
  • 2 or 3 large roses, wilted and dried
  • 1/2 cup sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon powdered alkanet root

Instructions

  1. If you're making your own rose oil, start by crushing the petals from two or three dried and wilted roses. Place the crushed petals in a jar with enough sunflower oil to cover them, seal the jar, and leave in a sunny place to infuse for two to six weeks. Once infused, strain the oil.
  2. Melt your beeswax, cocoa butter, and jojoba oil using a double boiler, then remove from heat.
  3. Stir in vanilla extract, three tablespoons of rose oil, and enough powdered alkanet root to give the mixture a pink tint.
  4. Transfer to tins, jars, or tubes and leave to set.
View Article Sources

  1. Harada, Hiroki, Hideki Kashiwadani, Yuichi Kanmura, and Tomoyuki Kuwaki. "Linalool Odor-Induced Anxiolytic Effects in Mice." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2018.